


Side Stories to "A Game of Kings"

by aceofhearts88



Category: Dalton Academy Series
Genre: Multi, OC characters, also a bunch of Dalton characters as well now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-22
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-02-26 14:25:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2655329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofhearts88/pseuds/aceofhearts88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>the "famous" dungeon scene (Julie's words, not my own) from Logan's point of view</p>
          </blockquote>





	1. Queen of Roses

The master bedroom is located at the back of the three story house, and next to the bed and the four cupboards, it is only filled with vases overflowing with red and white roses, and the whole room is filled with a flowery aroma as the door on the left wall opens and a women steps into the bedroom again.

She is barefoot, and wearing nothing but black lace panties and a matching bra with sapphires woven into the fabric, glowing blue and mystical in the dim light of the bedroom as she steps out of the luxurious bathroom, her long black hair is freshly dried and straightened. Her soft, pale skin still smells like vanilla and coconuts, the smell of the bath mixing with the roses as she walks over to the king sized bed with the blue cashmere blankets.

It's not her house... but then again, it doesn't belong to anyone anymore, and it would have been a shame to let a beautiful and comfortable mansion like this fall to waste and rubble.

Two months and she still hadn't seen most rooms, but why would there be a need to, one bedroom and a bathroom filled with more luxuries than she could count, it was all she would ever need to satisfy herself.

She hums to herself, a small melodic song from her childhood, while her hips sway to the rhythm of her steps, her goal the giant bed in the middle of the room, covered in silk dresses and leather jackets, in haute couture and expensive shoes, the prize of today's trip into the next city.

She starts singing as her fingers stroke over rich materials, picking them up piece by piece to carry them over to the already overflowing closet, “The French are glad to die for love.” and it isn't long until her voice grows louder as she danced around the room, opening the blinds to let sunshine fill the room.

Pulling cupboards open, she whips her black hair over her shoulder as she peers into the dozens of boxes filled to the brink with jewelry of all kinds. Necklaces. Earrings. Watches. Rings. All adorned with gemstones of all colors. Sapphires. Emeralds. Rubies. White pearls. Amber.

 

Men grow cold  
As girls grew old  
And we all lose our charms in the end

Her fingers pull out a necklace of white perfect pearls, and when she looks up at the mirror, brown eyes burn with glee as her scarlet lips continued to sing, while she reaches up to fasten the necklace around her neck.

But square-cut or pear-shaped  
These rocks don't lose their shape

“Diamonds are a girl's best friend.”she sang and twirled around on the spot, the gemstones shining in the sun, and her brown eyes couldn't get enough of her image in the mirror. She looks perfect, like a masterpiece of an old artist, only their paintbrushes would have been able to handle such magnificence.

So beautiful and perfect.

The doorbell ringing two stories down stopped her movements and she turned to look at herself fully in the mirror, her lips finally pulling themselves into a devilish smile and she repeated to herself what she had promised herself more than two years ago, her mantra, her life, “All men must die. But first we live.” and then she reached for the black silk robe and quickly slipped into it as she began to walk into the corridor and then down the stairs into the grand entrance hall so she could great her guest.

“Happy Birthday to me.”, she whispered as she schooled her smile into a more charming one and swung open the front door, only to hold in a shriek and jump to the side as the tall men dropped to the ground right in the entrance to her palace and with one last rattling breath he died on the spot, blood pouring from the gunshot wound in his back.

Her head snapped up to scan the entry path of the white stone house, but it was empty and vacant, so she turned her eyes back to her lo... well now former lover and frowned as she saw the knife protruding from his left thigh, sticking a piece of paper to him.

Crouching down, she ripped it off and quickly let her eyes fly over the few words, swallowing heavily as she finished and, with some quick kicks, pushed the dead body out of the house again, and slammed the door shut.

The message in her hand was clear as she hurried back up the stairs, it called for a change of clothes.

Tomorrow. Forest. Five am. Talk.

Written in his unmistakable strict and neat handwriting, so as much as she had wanted to spend the day rolling around the bed sheets in the horizontal, she would need to change course now.

And honestly, Enrico hadn't been worth it anyway, she thought as she slipped into the white leather pants and looked into the mirror again.

“How about getting yourself a Commander for your birthday, Tess?” her grin flashed her teeth at the mirror image, “Or even better...” she cocked her head to the side and stroked a hand down her chest, before she pulled the black silk top over it, and her face fell back into the cold mask, “How about a prince.”


	2. A Python among Vipers

A PYTHON AMONG VIPERS

She is twelve when she lays eyes on them for the first time, having taken a small hike through the forest behind the Academy, she had – despite all knowledge of the familiar paths – lost her way and had ended up right in front of the fences that had back then still surrounded the Reform school.

They had been new faces, fifteen and still fresh in the Academy, but rumors had quickly reached the town about the troublesome twins, and she couldn't deny that she had been quite curious to see them. And it had been worth it.

Blond. Tall. Graceful. 

They had been sitting on a table in the sun on the grounds, gleaming silver daggers peaking out from under their black shirts, shining in the sun, and her green eyes had been drawn to them like the moth to the flame. A tall blond boy had approached them with two brunets on either side of him as she edged closer into the shadow of the oak tree, trying to hide from view, no matter how much she might have been fascinated, those boys still scared her, they were in this school for a reason.

Dangerous. Deadly. Uncontrollable.

Fire. They were fire. And she was just a deep red rose.

Unknown tall blond guy didn't look happy as he strode with long steps towards the table occupied by the eye catching twins, and he seemed to snap something at them that had the leaner brunet at his side grab his arm in a reproach or to hold him back, she didn't know. But she watched them talk for a while, admired the way the twins almost gleamed with disinterest and amusement upon the clear anger on the other three boys's faces.

It looked like a game to them.

The other boys quickly left after their blond leader snapped something again, pointing a finger at one of the twins' head, but both blond boys quickly started laughing once the other three were out of earshot.

Her phone buzzing in her pocket had her realize with a jolt how long she had been staring through the fence, and she quickly rushed to answer her mother's confused question on where she was and why she wasn't home yet, and when she looked back up again, it took a lot of willpower and her quickly raised hand to keep her from screaming out in surprise and shock as she saw two pairs of curious blue eyes looking back at her.

“Hell there.”, one of them, the right one, started in his tantalizing voice, and later she would be ashamed about her mouth falling open, like a symphony their voices blended together.

“Isn't it lovely to see a pretty flower like you around here.”

“What a change for sour eyes. What's your name? Mine is Evan...”  
“And I'm his brother Ethan.”

“Laura.”, she could only stutter in shock, slowly dropping her hand again, “My name is Laura.”, and though her heartbeat made her ears ring, she still reached out her hand when Evan snuck his through the fence and held it out to take hers. And as his lips gave a small soft kiss to her skin, she felt her face blush crimson, and when Ethan repeated the gesture, she was convinced that her ears were burning, and she looked down upon her shoes.  
“Lovely meeting you.”, one of them called out, like a breath of wind in her ears, his voice like music, but when she looked back up, both of them were gone, as quietly as they had appeared.

It took her some minutes more of staring at the empty table until she had collected herself enough again to walk back home. But as much as she still felt herself, the troublesome only child of two well off local politicians, she knew that something within her had changed upon meeting those mesmerizing twins, something in her had awakened that day.

Desire.

She had always been a troublemaker, always out for rebelling against her parents, for speaking out when she wanted something, but it hadn't become as obvious until she was caught stealing sweets from a supermarket in town two weeks after that fateful meeting on the edge of the forest, and her decline began.

She was thirteen when she flipped out in class and assaulted her maths teacher with an intensity that got her expelled without any chance of turning it around, no matter if it had been her first acting up in school at all. But the strangulation marks on her teachers neck wouldn't disappear for weeks.

And then it all moved quickly.   
Her parents gave up, enrolled her at Dobry, Dalton Academy's sister school, a Reform school for troublesome girls, and where she should have felt anger or shame, she felt pride. Nothing would bring her closer to them.

Them. The twins.

So many nights she had snuck out and had walked around the city's darkness, hoping for a catch of blond hair or sky blue eyes, hoping to catch them on one of their rumored nightly trips into town. It wasn't a secret that the guards in Dalton were bribed to let the boys do whatever they wanted, inside and outside, as long as the money flowed.

But she never had any luck. So Dobry came as a blessing. They shared a small boarder on their grounds.

Fate turned against her again when Washington got bombed, two days before she was due for Dobry. Her parents did not survive the second night after the country had been called into a state of war, and it had been she herself with her father's gun who had pulled the trigger on their lives.

Two years later, and she still wasn't any closer to them, slave traders threatening everyone of her steps outside their little sanctuary at the lake. Inner fights and grudges keeping her away from Dalton and its boys in fear of her own life, they had shot everything that had dared to move too close to them in the beginning.

And then Franzi had gone and had associated herself with that Stuart prick, of all those boys, she had to chose him, the one guy that would make it impossible for Laura to reach her goal. Made it impossible to reach the twins, because “Windsor is Stuart's enemy. Sand Snakes do not ally themselves with anyone, but keeping out of this war does now mean keeping away from Windsor.”, Franzi had told her late one night after her lover and his lover had left once again.

It was hypocritical, everyone knew what Mel was doing when she disappeared. Everyone know with whom she was rolling around in the sheets. So why was she different? Why hold her back? She got angry, lashed out at everyone until Franzi kicked her out of the house for a night.

“To clear your head and make you remember who saved your life and provided you with a bed to sleep in without having to fear to be raped and butchered in the night.”

That night as she had walked aimlessly through the nights, mindful to keep to the shadows, she had seen them again, sixteen now and grown into a young woman, the desire had quickly filled her every bone as she spotted them laughing with each other in an abandoned flower shop, and she had stopped in her steps as their heads turned around to grin at her, as if they had known about her presence for some time already.

“Well, hello there, Laura.”  
“Fancy seeing you again. It's been a while.”

But before they could have moved any closer or said another word, a dark haired boy with a glare of steel had stepped out of a broken window of the old police station across the street, narrowing his eyes upon seeing her, and Laura gulped.

Dwight Houston. 

“Nothing. We're going back. Now.”, he ordered in his clear voice and slammed the door of the black car behind himself in the next second, Ethan and Evan shrugged their shoulders and brushed past her to reach the car as well.

“Until next time....”  
“Lovely flower.”

And away they were again. So close and so quickly out of reach again.

Fuck her life.

“So depressing and frustrating, isn't it?”, she whirled around in the next second upon hearing the smooth voice whisper into her ear, and came face to face with the black haired girl everyone knew about. 

Casey Lambert's killer.

Dobry's traitor.

Tess.

The Queen of Roses.

“Having to stand there and look how the one thing you desire most just slips right out of your fingers.”, red lips curled into a smirk, “Again and again.”

“What do you want?”, Laura bit back at her, she knew with whom she was dealing, she had heard enough about her from Ali, who had heard it from Ace, and she had heard enough warning from Franzi and Mel, who of course had their own sources. Rival sources, but for once they seemed to agree on a topic.

“Don't be so hostile. I'm merely trying to offer you a deal.”

“A deal? Why would I want to make a deal with you?”, green eyes narrowed and she curled her hand into fists, she wouldn't let anyone play with her, not anymore, “If my father had hurried a little more with the paperwork, I would have been a Dobry girl. You would have probably sold me off right along with the other dozens, so why would I want to work with you?”

“Because I can give you what you want most.”, Tess turned her voice into that musical swing, it was so different from the twins, not charming, not captivating, it was luring, like the song of a siren calling for her victims, “I can give you them.”, and she nudged in the direction of where the twins had disappeared in their car.

It was too tempting. 

She had sounded so sure and convinced. 

She could have them, see them, talk to them. She could be theirs.

How could she say no.

“What would I have to do for that?”, there had to be a catch, there had to be something bad, something she wouldn't be ready to do in order to finally have what she wanted so much, but Tess smiled, teeth flashed, humor not showing in her dark eyes.

“You would have to give me information.”  
“Information about whom?”  
“Logan Wright.”, Tess spoke it out and Laura's eyes widened, well... that could have been worse, was it truly so easy, “There is someone I know who wants all I can get about Wright. He pays good, I'll give you some of the money and do whatever I can to get you the twins. Do we have a deal?”

She said yes, before her body had even wholeheartedly agreed to it, she couldn't say no, she had been waiting so long and every single one of her leader's action brought her further away from her desired goal.

“Perfect.”, Tess's teeth gleamed white in the darkness, and later after Laura had known what she had done to her friends' future in that moment, she would have wished to turn back time, but it was too late, the decision was made, the wheels moved into place.

And it wasn't as if she had ever truly been a part of them. They were good girls, good girls thrown into a world they needed to change in in order to survive, good girls who had reached for weapons to defend themselves, who had turned poisonous to hide the terror inside. They bit quicker the more they were scared. They were deadly now because they needed to or they would die.

Take away the poison and they would be everybody's darling good girls again.

But as she looked at the Queen's grinning face, Laura knew that she had always been different, always a troublemaker, always just a tad bit more prepared for this new world. She didn't need poison to be deadly.

And now she would prove to everyone that she was more than just a girl who followed a self declared leader of lost girls, she would prove that she was worth it, worth it to be theirs. She would prove how much she deserved them, and they would come, they would see her for who she truly was and they would know they belonged together.

And if the world had to bleed for it to happen. She didn't care about boys, they could all rot, everyone but them.

She was a Sand Snake.

But she wasn't just Snake L, not just one Snake among many. Not anymore.

She was a python among vipers.


	3. Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the "famous" dungeon scene (Julie's words, not my own) from Logan's point of view

A Game of Kings - Mine

The Dungeon Sex Scene from Logan's PoV

He took one last deep breath before he set the key to the door and turned it around, reaching for the handle and pushing the door open before any more doubts could fill him, he pushes his brother's begging face and Derek's annoyed one out of his head and every other emotion as well. 

Almost everything, and in the split second that it took him to cross over the threshold, all that is left inside of him is the anger and the fury over Julian's broken loyalty and the disappointment over his betrayal. All that he allows himself to feel on the inside is the hurt of a broken friendship.

Green eyes immediately switched over to the small cell where his captain was curled up on his side on the simple cot, at least two blankets pulled over himself, it wasn't exceptionally cold in the dungeon, but Logan knew Julian still liked it more than just cozy to be at ease.

California had marked him, just as his time in Stuart had. 

He took the stairs step by step, letting his shoes click over the stones to announce his presence, he wasn't entirely sure of what to expect, how wrecked the sniper would truly be, he wasn't surprised about Julian not turning around to look who it was. He had been told to not expect any visitors and Logan surely was the last person he would ever expect to see him in this place.

Once he was down on the ground, he immediately turned to walk over to the table in the corner, and then plugged the bag from his shoulder and threw it down upon the wooden surface. Out of the corner of his eyes he could still see Julian unmoving on the cot, but then his voice rang out and Logan had to bite his lips to keep them from pulling into a grin, it had been so obvious he wouldn't be able to stay quiet.

"No greeting today for your captain?”, Julian called out in flowing sarcasm and then made a little pause before it went on from his mouth, Logan was only waiting for the insults and turned to walk over to the cell, "Did they cut your tongue? You're turning into a monk now, Vergel? Or did your brain finally accept your status as a lesser human being?", once more Julian fell silent, just as Logan stopped right in front of the cell door.

"Oh god, come on, say something. Did Derek order you to take the last fun away from me now? You hate me, I hate you, let me insult you. There is no fun in getting no reactions.", and very pleased he noted how Julian turned around on the cot in obvious annoyance, he was just in the mood Logan wanted him, rebellious, loud, riled up. Oh, he would work perfectly with that.

Julian froze entirely when he looked up and see him standing behind the bars instead of the easily annoyed young boy from their house, sepia eyes widened comically.

“Logan.”

"Surprised to see me? Or surprised I'm not holding a gun to your head?", he schooled his face into a hard pokerface and turned his voice ice cold, he couldn't let Julian get to him again, never again, he needed to be strong, or everything would fall, and he would lose control again. He knew what Julian was thinking when he flinched, that he didn't saw him as a friend any longer, but a foe, an enemy, being worth nothing. 

And oh, how Logan wished that to be true, it would have made things so much easier.

But it wasn't, and it would never be easy, not anymore, he thought as he walked back to the table again.

"Have you come to punish me or to get rid of me?”, Logan didn't say a single word, just raised his left eyebrow and took off his leather jacket, throwing it onto the table, he turned around then and placed both hands flat upon the table's surface, "Stand up.", Logan growled, green eyes glaring at the scratched table surface, and he tried with all his might to push Derek's voice out of his head again, but it was hard to ignore the words of 'Don't lose control now, Logan, you have a mission' when his instinct had had years of being trained to listen to the voice of reason among them. 

But what he wanted now was to forget about the mission and take back what belonged to him, and mark it in any way possible for the world to see.

Julian was his.

And he was longing for the power sex between them always brought along.

It was wrong. But that had been the reason they had started it in the first place. Taste the forbidden.

"Step around the cot and stand facing the wall.”, the command came out cold and growling, and Logan took a moment to get his thoughts back under control before he straightened up and pulled his shirt over his head in a single motion.  
A moment passed in silence between them, but then Logan's voice cut through the dungeon again, "Take off your shirt.”, he saw how Julian flinched, having walked closer to him again, hands reaching out to unlock the cell doors and when the old door fell open, he stopped and watched.

Watched how Julian raised shaking arms to pull his hoodie over his head and then his shirt as well, he shivered when he was bare chested, Logan left him standing for a moment, knowing that he despised the cold, he wanted him to suffer for a few seconds until his ever warmer body soothed him again.

When his foot nudged Julian's leg apart, he could feel how the brunet's breathing picked up, and then with his lips pulled into a thick smirk, he used one hand to push Julian's upper body against the ice cold stone wall and then quickly took it back again, leaving Julian bend over against the stones.

"It's an interesting punishment you have in mind.", Julian cut back at him but remained in his position, hands twitching against the stones, Logan chuckled in response and knew exactly what he was doing to Julian with it. He knew what a chuckle from him meant, the last person he had chuckled at, had ended up with a slit throat only seconds later, but Julian had to realize that he had always been a special case.

Otherwise he would have been dead two days after stepping through Stuart's door for the very first time.

In the next moment, Logan decides to give into temptation and pressed his body against Julian's, bending over him, bringing his chest flush against the sniper's back, hands gripping onto the smaller boy's hips. Julian's breath left him completely for a moment, he could feel every moment, and then he smiled and pushed his face against the pale neck of the other boy, letting his teeth graze over skin, while his right leg pushed its way between the tensed ones of Julian.

"You know how this goes, don't you?" Logan grinned against his neck as he pressed even closer, grounding his hardened cock against Julian's ass, he knew that his captain knew exactly how this game was going to be played. When he didn't get an answer immediately and instead felt how Julian swallowed hard and tensed up even more, he dug his fingernails into the skin under the waistband of his jeans, Julian nodded immediately then, "Good." and the blond's voice was flat, but he imagines his breath had to feel like fire on cold skin when he moved his mouth to the point on Julian's body where his neck met his shoulder.

Logan breathed deeply and calmly when he stroked one hand over Julian's hip and towards the zipper of his pants, unhooking the button and the slipping long fingers past the waistband of Julian's boxers. And it felt good to feel him, hard, twitching the second his fingers touched him. You are still holding all the power over him, you just have to make him yours again, his mind drawled at him greedily.

All he wanted now was more, to own every inch of Julian's skin, to own every sound, every movement, every breath. All he wanted now was to own Julian. He wrapped his fingers around Julian's cock and began to stroke him slowly, while his teeth bit into the juncture between shoulder and neck, knowing exactly how to push the other boy's buttons.

After a minute or two, Logan decided to increase the pace of his hand, he wanted Julian completely on edge before he took him, and he grinned into soft skin when Julian dropped his forehead against the stones, and in response he only pressed his body closer and started to thrust his hips slowly against the sniper's ass. The friction of his own pants raising him higher and higher already, and then when Julian whimpered breathlessly and a shudder worked itself through his body, Logan knew he was ready.

"Clothes off." Logan's voice snapped when he was already walking off again, he didn't need to see Julian undress, didn't need to stare at his almost scar less body to admire him, to ger even more aroused, he knew every dip and every curve, he knew every flaw and every inch of beauty, this body was his. Instead he walked over to the table and took off his own pants and shorts, not even feeling the cold in the dungeon, his skin was fire, and he needed to melt ice.

"Hands on the wall.", Logan ordered and grabbed the lube from his bag, coating his fingers with an amount he deemed enough for the other boy, it wasn't only about pleasure after all, this was a punishment as well. When he turned around, Julian had complied, his body shaking slightly but standing just the way Logan wanted him to, and he crossed the distance between them again and pressed hot skin against cold one again. Julian's gasp was like gasoline to the flame inside of him as he pressed a hand upon his right hip and then it turned into an angry hiss when Logan pressed him against the stone wall from head to toe, he chuckled evilly, "You are being punished, don't forget that for a second." Logan's deep voice whispered close to his ear and reached his prepared hand between Julian's cheeks.

Don't forget that you will only be allowed to come when I tell you to.

A smirk crossed over his face when Julian melted into his touch and spread his legs further upon feeling a first lube cold finger reaching for his hole, and Logan kept quiet, completely silent while he worked a first and then a second finger into his friend. He wanted to feel every moment of it. Slowly and carefully he worked him open for him, listened to every strangled gasp and every moan Julian swallowed down heavily again, while he slowly pushed back on Logan's fingers. It wasn't rough, a punishment might have called for it, but Logan knew that rough was what Julian wanted, that rough was what would bring him over the edge.

And Logan couldn't allow that yet. First, he needed to show him where he belonged.

You are mine.

Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

Only mine. You belong to me.

Green eyes stared down at the body in front of him, when Logan pushed a third finger into the tight hole, still tight, no matter how many times Julian had given himself to him, no matter how many times Logan had taken him. Tight. Hot. And his own.

When he finally deemed him ready, Logan manhandled him onto the cot, roughly now because he wanted it, pushing him to lay on his back, and he didn't waste any time to lay down over him, pushing in with a single trust that unleashed the animal inside Logan's always carefully guarded heart, but here he knew nothing would let him come to harm, he might not trust Julian, but he trusted himself. Julian's hands came flying up to grab onto his strong shoulders and the blond smirked, stopped for a moment, buried deep inside of him, staring down at him with lust filled green eyes.

You are mine. Only mine.

But the small moment of taking in his prey ended when his body and the urge to claim forced him into moving, sharp thrusts, quick and hard, and now he turned entirely into the animal. Rough, hard and quick, unforgiving, punishing, this was Logan showing him exactly who had power. And who would never have it.

Because I am king. And you were always meant to be mine. You are no leader material, you are following me, you are prey.

My prey.

And when Logan leaned down to bite at his neck again, dragging teeth down his collarbone in tact with his quick paced thrusts, he felt the power seeping back into veins, settling deep inside his heart and he whispered "talk" into Julian's ear, when the longing to hear him scream became too much. And the first loud moan echoed in his ears, and it prompted Logan to move in for a kiss as the monster inside his head clawed at its restraints. It was hot, more teeth than lips, both trying to dominate, and Logan was ruthless as he bit into the fresh cut on Julian's bottom lip, drawing a mewl from the young sniper, but only feeling ecstasy himself.

Logan only quickened his pace even more and brought their bodies flush against each other and a first scream escaped Julian's lips as the sudden friction shot through his cock and whole body. The room is filled with the sounds of sex, moans and skin slapping against skin, the sounds echoing from the walls, and every breath Logan took tasted of sex.

And while Julian gasped and screamed a symphony of “fuck” and “yes” and “more”, Logan's thrusts became more frantic and even deeper, he got reduced to panted gasps and a constant strong of “mine, mine, mine” falling his swollen lips as their hips continued to crash together. Heat was coiling in his stomach, pleasure was rising, he couldn't care anymore about anyone else, all he could think of was flying now. All he wanted was to lose himself now. Deep inside Julian. 

Julian scratched his fingernails deeper into his skin and Logan hissed furiously, pushing himself up again until he was leaning over his captain, hands splayed onto the cot left and right of Julian's head. And with his next thrust he hit Julian's prostrate with a hard shove, prompting the smaller boy to scream out loud and it filled him with the last fire he needed, and two more hard thrusts later Logan came with a roar, burning green eyes into sepia ones as the white wave fell over him.

When he was spilled inside him though, his mind came crashing back over him again, it pushed back the monster and the animal, and locked his heart up again, and he didn't even spent a second thinking about what Julian must have been thinking. They had never looked themselves into the eyes before in the final moment, never, but today Logan had felt it more than necessary, because only in sepia eyes he could see what Julian was truly thinking.

And he needed to know that he was his.

But so, he slipped out of him in the first second his body granted him full control over his limbs again and he sat back up, sitting down on the edge of the cot as if nothing had ever happened.

“You can do the rest yourself, don't you think?”, Logan quipped satisfied down at him and then picked up his discarded clothes on his way out of his cell, not giving himself a second of looking back, now where the anger had been fucked out of his system mostly, he was left with the overwhelming wave of disappointment and betrayal again, the two emotions he hated the most in the world.

He walked back to the table and reached into his bag to take out a towel, quickly cleaning and drying himself off, feeling every single second Julian stared at his back, but he only smirked to himself, satisfied over having gotten him speechless once more. They might crash when it came to agreeing over rules and tactics, but when it came to sex, they still fitted together perfectly and Logan wasn't going to forgo it anymore if it came down to his choice.

Sex with Julian was the best sex he had ever had. The most destroying and bruising one at that as well, he thought when he straightened his back to slip back into his shirt and felt his muscles straining a little against the scratch marks on his skin, but he didn't care, not as long as it felt so god-damn good. He didn't need drugs to get this kind of ecstasy and he would need to remind Julian he didn't either.

“Come on.”, he prompted when he was already dressed again, only the two top buttons of his shirt still open, but he knew he must have made a very dangerous impression when he saw Julian still laying motionless on the cot, panting and gasping. Naked. Hot. And so fucking hard still, “You can touch yourself, you know.”, he could see it in sepia eyes how pissed off Julian got upon his words, but that he just didn't have the mental capacity to snap at him a comment or two.

He walked back into the cell, grinning contently, only he was able to reduce Julian to this mess, only he was allowed to, he thought when he leaned against the bars right next to the door, “Let me watch, Jules. Let me see you crumble.”, because he needed to, he needed to see Julian at his weakest before he could even dare and give him a chance to explain.

Julian needed to break. And he would make sure he did it completely.

Logan kept green eyes fixed on Julian's lust clouded sepia ones as the sniper reached both hands down to wrap around his cock and after two strokes, the king lost the fight against his body and his tongue flickered out to wet his lips. Julian's lips opened for a heavy moan and he threw his head back into the pillow as his eyes fell shut and Logan smirked in victory.

“That's it, keep going.”, he drawled in reawakening arousal and walked over to the cot, slowly sinking down to sit on the edge of it, never taking his eyes off of Julian slowly falling into the demands of his body, creeping closer to the edge. It was like his own personal addiction, seeing the tremors run through the brunet's body, how his hips stuttered up into his own hands, how his back arched off the cot.

And then it came over him, and he let the monster take control again when his head clouded with the lust that ran like waves over Julian's body, and Logan ceased being the boy and became the king, as he raised strong hands to curl them around Julian's throat before his head even know what he was doing.

And his heart became quiet.

Because a king had no heart.

He let every ounce of possessiveness and anger and fury colour his eyes when he stared down at sepia eyes again, who had flown open upon feeling his hands, not yet squeezing but being heavy enough to make the weight noticeable on Julian's gasping breaths.

He would make this boy see whom he belonged to once and for all.

“Keep going.”, Logan ordered, his voice having dropped so low as the monster took more and more control, he had seen exactly how Julian's hands had stilled around his cock in his shock and surprise, and Julian opened his mouth but before he could speak Logan pressed down on his throat just that little bit more and all that he was able to manage was a choked up, “Lo...”.

“I said, keep going.”, Logan snarled in answer and Julian flinched once but then he moved his hands again, and sepia eyes returned to staring into green ones, and Logan knew Julian could see it all, the anger, the betrayal, the pain, the disappointment, and into his lust clouded mind fear got mixed into as well as he rose higher and higher with every stroke right before Logan's eyes.

And when Logan sensed gasped breaths turning into steady moans, and Julian's hands moved more frantically, only then did he tightened his hands' hold on the smaller boy's throat, fingers sliding tighter against the heated skin.

“Lo...”, he could hear Julian choke out again, and like the hungry beast he was he kept green eyes locked with sepia ones, and the hunger inside of him only rises when he saw Julian closing in on the edge, saw how the breaths weren't coming, saw how his hands sped up.

He saw everything.

He felt everything.

“Lo...”, it left Julian once more, and then Logan saw how the brunet captain gritted his teeth as his entire body tensed up, and he leaned down with the most satisfied grin, every bone and vein in his body was pleased with the picture beneath him.

At his mercy.

“Say my name.”, he ordered and commanded, letting every last chain go that held the demon inside of him back, “Say my name! Say my name and come for me!”, he let desperation colour his words, let every fibre of his being focus on that one sweet moment when Julian's orgasm would leave him utterly defenceless in Logan's hands.

You. Are. Mine.

His hands tightened further around Julian's throat and it sent a shudder of pleasure and power through his body and the kind inside of him welcomed the feeling with open arms, he had missed it, had missed the open display of just how dangerous he could be. Julian's lips fell open for a silent scream, but sepia eyes still didn't fall away from his green ones and all Logan could hear inside his own head was the ringing scream of 'You are mine' 

Julian's body shuddered once and then arched almost completely off the cot as the wave crashed over him in the exact same moment that Logan loosened his fingers again to let the air swoosh back into Julian's throat. 

“Logan!”, the sniper screamed and his whole body convulsed as he spilled over his hands and stomach, eyes fallen shut again as he crashed back onto the cot, his limbs loosing all strength. And inside Logan the beast roared and then retreated back into its corner again, happy, satisfied, content, and the king became the boy again.

“And you better remember it. You are mine.”, Logan sneered at Julian and then as the disgust over his behaviour and the horror upon remembering how good his hands around Julian's throat had felt washed over him, he quickly let go of him completely. He got back to his feet and walked over to the table again with a brisk pace, hoping that he had quickly enough turned his back on Julian to hide his shaking hands.

He had had his life in his hands. A little more pressure, a little longer and Julian could have died, so with his thoughts still running too wild and too uncontrolled inside his mind, he did the only thing that could help him now, he busied himself with cleaning up the mess the sniper always left behind.  
“Clean yourself. And then dress, we need to talk.”, he called out with a cold voice without looking at the other boy, he threw the towel over to him with just a quick twist of his wrist and then let it be followed by fresh clothes he had pulled out of the boy's closet some hours earlier.

He didn't wait for a reaction, instead turned to walk around the cell and the stone walled room to pick up Julian's old clothes, “I'm going to burn these outside, be ready when I'm back.”, he said and then rushed towards the stairs as the air that still smelled like sex and lust and danger threatened to suffocate him.


	4. A Prince and a Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julie's and Austin's story

A Prince and A Princess

Four Defining Moments in Austin's and Julie's relationship

Prologue

"He'll be here in a few minutes.” Franzi smiled at her as she pushed the phone back into her pants, sitting back against the broken fridge under the counter, "I'll answer every single one of your questions when we're safe, I promise. For now, my name is Franzi and this is Ali.” she pointed to her sister who was still holding her upright, "What is your name?"

"Julie.” it was hard to work her lips around her name, she hadn't used it herself in a long time, and no one had called her by her given name for even longer, she had just been a number.

"Well, Julie.” the older girl smiled at her again, even more genuine and warm then, "Welcome to the Sandsnakes."

They had to wait for at least 20 minutes then and Julie could feel her strength slipping further and further with every second, and soon enough as they continued to cover behind the counter, only Franzi peaking out now and then, Ali couldn't hold her anymore and had to lay her down on the ground again, one of her hands tightly holding onto Julie's right one.

She was so tired, and so cold, her limbs felt like a lead weight and she was still shaking from head to toe, all she wanted now was to sleep, but Ali kept her awake with her voice and the repeated squeezing of her hand.  
“Franzi, she needs help. She can't even keep her eyes open for long anymore.”, she could hear the younger sister speak up, and with her eyes closed she felt how the older girl moved closer again and placed a careful hand on her forehead.  
“She's burning up. Derek will be here soon, he'll help her. They may have done some questionable things in the last weeks, but even Wright doesn't avert his eyes from a rescued camp girl. She'll be okay, Ali.”, Franzi's voice sounded so confident and warm and Julie could have listened to her for hours.

But the moment was broken, when tires squeaked outside the windows as cars barrelled into the street, and then some gunshots rang out and Julie tensed up, whimpering in pain and fear she pushed both hands over her face as Ali leaned down to soothe her. For minutes the shooting continued and voices yelled outside the cafe, male voices, but where Julie felt a panic attack closing in on her heart and mind, she could vaguely feel Ali and Franzi relax and breathe a sigh of relief.

And then it was silent again.

“It's gonna be okay.”, Ali was just whispering in her ear when Franzi peered over the counter again and then jumped to her feet, running around it just as the cafe door was slammed open and heavy boots entered the old abandoned place.  
“Not a minute too late.”, her voice greeted their savior, and one voice chuckled as another deeper one grunted in what Julie made out to be slight annoyance.  
“It was our pleasure, my lady.”, the cheerier voice called out then and as fabric shifted, Julie could picture Franzi hugging someone in gratitude, “But seriously though, you and I are going to have a talk about safety measures and unnecessary trips to camp sites again.”

Franzi and what Julie now presumed to be Derek started to squabble silently while the other male in the room started walking again and came closer to them, and when his boots stopped right next to them, Julie felt Ali straighten up again.  
“She's in really bad shape, Logan. She must have been running for a long time.”, Ali explained as the unknown man crouched down next to her and in the next second hands reached under her knees and shoulders and as much as her body was screaming on the inside, she was too weak to protest or fight.

She could only briefly open her eyes for a second or two when the unknown man Ali had called Logan picked her up and straightened up again in an easy roll as if she was just a feather in his arms. He didn't say a single word, just shifted her more secure in his hold and then walked out of the cafe, Ali remained with her, one hand gripping hers tightly again.

And then, as Logan's body heat seeped through his bare arms and into her battered body, she just let herself fall, maybe there was a god after all, was her last thought before she passed out, it would just take some more time until she truly met him.

\--

1.The First Meeting

Austin grumbled unhappily and crossed his arms over his chest when Derek pushed him through the ivy bushes that surrounded the small property at the lake that he had so far only heard of in tales from his brother, his captain and Derek.

The lake house.

The Sand Snakes' home.

The place he was no reluctantly forced to spent his afternoon and evening at, because Logan and Julian were fighting again, and no place in Stuart was sacred anymore once their voices got hoarse and their fury at each other turned into unstoppable desire.

Cursing himself for his thoughts, he pressed his eyes shut for a second and then looked back at Marcus brightly grinning in front of him, "I don't get why you are so grumpy, Aus. Cheer up a little!", their highest Kingsguard chuckled and Austin glared only harder.  
"I could cheer up a little if the two of you hadn't kidnapped me from my room without me even being able to take my jacket, let alone my book.", he could hear Derek snorting at his back and his hands still pushing him forward, even if Austin was by now walking quite on his own.

"You don't need books, when you have girls.", Marcus pointed out to him and stepped out of the bushes and into the meadow that surrounded the impressive white house, Austin's eyes were immediately drawn to it, it looked almost as colonial as Stuart House, three stories high, a porch and a balcony surrounding it on the level floor and the third one. It was beautiful, almost capable of distracting Austin from his frustration of having to go one evening without his favourite book and the impending awkwardness of having to deal with girls.

Girls.

Saying he was awful with them would be a misunderstanding, no one had ever taught him how to talk to them, how to act around them, his brother wasn't the best role model, and the only girl he ever was around now these days was a sneaky not yet ten year old who loved climbing trees as much as tea parties and her dolls.

He liked to think he was good with Amanda, but that didn't mean anything about being good with teenage girls, what if they were pretty? He hadn't actually seen any of the Snakes aside from Franzi and Ali yet, and he knew they were beautiful. 

Oh God girls.

"I can't do this.", he stuttered out when the door of the house sprung open and Ali grinned at them from the doorway, Marcus and Derek shared a look over his head and then threw an arm around his shoulders each, Austin dug his heels into the ground, "Please, just let me go home."  
"Easy, Romeo, we're not selling you off to get married. Spend some time with them, talk with them.", Derek proposed with the ease of someone who had never had trouble approaching girls, whereas the blond prince had a hard time remembering how to spell his own name when the other gender was around.

Granted they were older than 13.

"Hey, guys.", Ali called out to them and Derek and Marcus pulled a whining Austin onto the porch and into the house. Austin threw one last look over his shoulder towards the green forest before Ali slammed the door shut behind herself and he was pushed into the living room, giggling and cooing surrounding him from all sides immediately.

..

Fifty minutes later he stumbled out of the house again and rushed behind the next tree, leaning his back against it and taking several calming deep breaths, he was so not made for social outings, and it meant a lot when his overwhelmed mind was honestly preferring Logan's and Julian's toxic fights to a room full of teenage girls. He would rather face a pissed off sniper or a raging king than have anyone else stroke fingers through his hair ever again. Brie might have been nice, but it stopped right with his hair.

He knew thought that going back alone would piss Derek off immensely, they all deemed the darkness and the forests way too dangerous for him at the moment to be out alone without a protection detail. Sometimes Austin hated this new life.

So he pushed a hand through his hair and instead looked around, intending to find a nice calm place where he could just think in peace until Marcus and Derek were done with...their thing. The lake looked calming even from a distance and even more so when he found the small figure sitting crosslegged on the pier, hunched over to read the book in her hands, soft brown hair falling down her back.

The setting sun illuminated her body like the ones of angels in old pictures from the great artists of the Renaissance, and for the first time in his life, Austin caught himself thinking that seeking out the presence of a girl might actually turn out positive.

After all, she was reading a book.

And so, before his mind had been fully made up, he was already walking towards her with determined but calm steps, and then just sat down next to her, watching her from the corner of his eyes how it took a moment for her to break out of her reading spell to notice him. But then her head snapped up and the most beautiful eyes Austin had ever seen stared back at him, brown, with golden specks as the orange light of the sun caressed her face.

Sepia.

Her eyes were sepia.

A minute passed by with silence between them as they stared into each others eyes, and Austin's mind was left reeling for words to speak, when Julie got there first.

"Julie.", she spluttered out suddenly, her brown eyes peaking out from behind her dark fringe, "My name is Julie.", she quickly corrected her sentence and blushed prettily, he smiled, he had truly never seen anything more beautiful.  
"My name is....", he was about to introduce himself, the words almost feeling strange and weird on his tongue, because of how long it had been since he had last needed to speak his name out in a presenting manner. The world had always know him before he had known it.

And this time it wouldn't be any different.

"Austin.", it shot from her again, "Your name is Austin. You are Logan Wright's brother. They talk about you quite a lot.", Julie babbled out, cheeks scarlet by then, and though it seemed to send a twitch through her entire body, she still kept on looking into his blue eyes, as if an unknown power held her there.

"Who?", he blinked and asked her, feeling completely stupid for doing so, because how much contact to not Snakes did the poor girl have for her own safety.  
"The girls.", she responded then as should have been expected of her and Austin stared with his mouth wide open before he swallowed heavily, Julie was almost grinning.  
"They talk about me?", Austin cursed his voice for climbing up in sound, but this new piece of information was more than just a shock, why would someone talk about him, let alone girls.

"You and your brother."

"What are you reading?", he changed the topic then when he got uncomfortable with constantly being reminded of his unreachable shadow of a big brother, and instead pointed at the book in the girl's hands. Julie looked down at it and a small smile flickered over her lips.  
"A Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.", Austin grinned and a small laugh bubbled from his chest, Julie blushed again, and god he loved the color in her cheeks so much.

"That's the one I would have in my hand now as well if Derek hadn't kidnapped me before I was even able to reach my room.", he explained, nudging his head back to the house where his babysitter was probably doing things better not mentioned in front of ladies.  
"Why did he kidnap you?", Julie questioned him with furrowed brows, laying her book down on the wooden pier and placing her entire attention on him, Austin felt his smile grow.  
"My brother...has some arguments with our Kingsguard captain to....settle. It can get quite loud.", Julie furrowed her brows in some confusion, but didn't question his strange explanation and Austin was grateful for her silence, "So, you seem to know a lot of things about me. Why don't you tell me something about you?", the sudden silence from her had his throat choke up, "Did I say something wrong?"

"You know my name, you know I lost my sister and you know I like books. So you know as much about me as I know myself.", ashamed and overcome by a sadness that even Austin felt, Julie lowered her head again, but he quickly reached out with one hand and pulled her chin up again with careful fingers. Smiling at her, he let blue eyes fill with warmth and comfort.  
"Well then let's try and get to know you together.", just for a moment he was shocked about his own words, but then he smiled brighter at the smaller girl who blushed even more, but was unable to turn her eyes away from his.

It was the start of something magical.

2\. The Night of their First Kiss

"I'm sorry.", she could hear Austin's voice before she actually saw him slip through the two old oak trees she sat facing on the small blanket, "I am so sorry, but my brother just wouldn't shut up, I had to sell my soul to Julian basically to get away from him, and then I had to dodge Nick.", he smiled at her in apology and Julie felt all worry and frustration over his delay melt away when he dropped to his knees in front of her. 

He looked a little stressed again, hair wild and unkempt and his eyes had that mildly pissed off note in them again that Julie had come to hate, because it almost made him look older than he truly was.   
"You're here now, that counts.", she grinned up at him and Austin's smile got wider as he shifted until he was sitting crosslegged in front of her and pulled the book out from under his light jacket.

Leather. Again with the leather. These boys sure loved their leather jackets.

"What did you bring today?", he asked her when they settled back into their routine, sneaking out of their houses in the late evening, meeting halfway in the woods, Julie always brought the blanket, Austin brought a gun, they both brought books and would stay in their little recluse until the middle of the night.  
"Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray.", Julie answered and showed him the book she had already finished to a third, "And you?", she shot the question right back and Austin grinned, turning his book around as he leaned back against the rock behind him, "Sense and Sensibility. Austen, nice one."

A comfortable silence developed between them when they both started reading again, and Julie only glanced up shortly again when a small sigh of contentment escaped Austin's lips as he relaxed. She liked to watch him secretly when he was gone like this, not knowing that Austin felt and did quite the same everytime she glanced down at her book again.

For weeks already they had been sitting in the nights like this, searching each other's calm and warmth after a day full of stress and war and fear and fights. It was the only thing that let Julie swallow down the crippling anxiety over not knowing who she truly was, that let her sleep for some hours without the ripping fear of being hunted again. It was the only thing that let Austin swallow down the frustration over his brother's dependency on an unstable captain, that let him sleep for some hours without the ripping fear of losing everything and everyone to a war no one of them wanted.

These few hours together.

Two hours passed and Julie was completely engrossed into the story and the characters by the time Austin dropped his book and dragged a hand down his face, despite all the peaceful silence of the forest around them, he could feel a headache coming for himself. Shifting once more he stretched out his legs and layed down on the blanket on his back, closing his eyes he didn't even realize how the fingers of his hand landed on Julie's left thigh and started playing with her fingers.

Julie did though, and she looked up in surprise from her book, sepia brown eyes looking down at the blond boy as she lowered her book to the ground and intertwined their fingers. The small gesture prompted Austin to open his eyes again and catch hers, and then it just happens.

Austin tugged on her hand and pulled her closer until her face was hovering over his, and then he leaned up and pressed their lips together for a first sweet kiss. And his headache disappeared, and her insecurity melted away when she sunk down into his arms.

3.The Second Night after being Reunited

Austin did respect his brother, he respected his words, his rules and most of the time even his orders, and he was also incredibly thankful for having him back home. For both of them being mostly unhurt, Julian and Logan. But sometimes he just couldn't listen to his older brother, sometimes he just had to do things his way, and whether it be chasing off dirty false queens or slipping out of his rooms in the middle of the night, it just had to be.

He tiptoed across the corridor, very intend on not waking his brother, Julian, Marcus or Derek, because not being caught was the basic of this nightly tour, and he had been quite good at it before this while thing with the ghost had blown over. But now his brother and his friends were more alert even inside their home, and he was also still limping and it didn't make it all easier.

He didn't knock on the door, it would have drawn to much attention and instead just quietly slipped into the dark room and then breathed a sigh of relief behind the closed door. Brown eyes found his easily when he turned around and looked into the darkened room, how Julie sat up sleepily in Amanda's former bed and pushed a strand of hair out of her face.  
"What are you doing here? Your brother will get angry, Aus.", the girl of his heart frowned at him, but Austin merely smiled and walked over to her, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"I had to see you.", he explained and cupped her face with one of his hands, Julie smiled faintly and leaned into his touch, "Have you been sleeping better?"  
"Until you woke me, yes. Austin, I'm fine. I'm really okay, I know I am safe now here.", her voice tried to convince him and Austin could see it, how she was more relaxed already, comfortable in the darkness of a still unknown room, "You need some rest, Aus. You're still limping.", he wanted to brush it off, to tell her that he was okay, but he knew he wouldn't be able to lie to her, and he knew even more that he didn't want to lie to her.

He had thought he had lost her. He had thought she had died by his own hands.

"Hey, I'm here.", Julie let him snap out of the beginning of another guilt trip again when she leaned up and captured his lips softly with hers, Austin sighed into their kiss and curled his free arm around the girl's warm waist, pulling her closer to him.

When they broke apart to gasp for fresh air, he leaned their foreheads together, looking from blue eyes into sepia ones, and he let his lips speak for himself, "I love you.", he had known it for days already before that fateful moment in the warehouse had happened, and he had back then sworn himself to tell her the second he saw her again, but then he had pulled the trigger and everything had burned away. Right before his eyes.

But now nothing was able to pull them apart, nothing able to come between them. They were safe. As safe as they could be in a world like this. He would protect her this time, he would make sure that she was happy, even if it meant giving everything he was capable of.   
"I love you, too.", Julie answered him with a wide smile, and Austin could feel his heart speed up as his entire body filled with a cozy warmth, and he pressed his lips to hers again.

Julie's hands moved up to twist into his blond hair and he curled both of his arms around her, hugging her close to his chest, and they completely lost themselves into each other, slowly falling back down on the bed. None of them got aware of the door opening.

"Austin, get into your room right now!", Julian's sharp voice came from the doorway and had them break apart quickly again, both of them whirled around and stared with wide eyes at the young man with the oak brown hair, sepia eyes were narrowed, "Now, while your brother is still asleep!", the older sniper snapped and Julie pushed Austin from the bed, reluctantly the young prince got to his feet again and rushed out of the room. 

"Goodnight, Julie, sleep well.", Stuart's captain nodded to the young teenage girl who smiled apologetically back at him, Julian sighed and gave her a true smile in return.  
"Goodnight, Julian.", she responded verbally and then laid back down into the frilly pink pillows when Julian nudged Austin to walk off and closed the door again.

4.The Night of very important Firsts

They were both sixteen when Derek, Marcus and Franzi left for New Orleans and the mission that would see them infiltrate the ranks of Julie's father's army and organisation to find out which kind of threat he really posed towards the Wright family.

And it took a couple of days until their thoughts left this new kind of danger behind, but then Logan and Julian announced that they were leaving for Paris and their own secret mission in two weeks, throwing Austin completely for a loop upon realizing that he would once again have to take over responsibility for Stuart.

Completely alone this time. With only Cyrus around to give some guidance.

Two panic attacks and a three hour long private talk between two brothers later, Austin had stormed into Julie's room at the end of the third story corridor and had thrown some clothes into a bag while his girlfriend had stared at him with confused eyes.  
"Have fun.", Logan had called into her room when he had passed by and Julie had raised her eyebrows at him but their king had been gone again before his thick smirk could have been any kind of explanation for her.

"Aus?", she had turned to her boyfriend, who had turned around to face her with the sun pouring from his eyes and smile directly towards her, her sunshine.  
"Long weekend. Cottage. Just us.", he had almost stumbled over his words, then he had closed the bag and had pulled her from her chair, allowing her dumbfounded self only enough time to grab her jacket before dragging her out of Stuart.

Only to run back in some minutes later when Julian called from the balcony that it would be smart to take the key.

Julie couldn't have believed their luck when they stepped into the cozy cottage in the thick forest between Stuart and Lancaster some minutes later, and the only thought she had was that finally they would be able to have some time just for them. Something they had tried in the past months many many times, but had always ended up interrupted by something, most of the times by Derek's and Franzi's overbearing need to play moral babysitter. 

Or Logan's big brother complex and the insane need to make sure they were happy and safe and alright and unhurt, and healthy. Or Amanda had tried to wriggle herself in between them, still so used to Austin being the only one around to play with, also still getting used to have a girl at her big brother's side on a daily basis now.

But now. Alone. Just them. 

No one to interrupt.

And so Julie grinned happily when Austin dropped the bag by the couch and then pulled her into a tight embrace, and she contendly leaned against his chest, burying her face in the crook of his neck, sharing into his warmth.

They settled in front of the fireplace after Austin had started the fire with clumsy hands, and Julie relaxed back into her boyfriend's arms, letting everything fall away for one night, just being a teenager for once who had nothing to lose, who had the time to live for the moment.

And it wasn't as if anything was planned, it just happened like they had both dreamed it to happen, just like that, only them, no pressure, no one around to disturb them. Just them.

Austin turned her around in his arms and cupped her face with both hands before gently pressing his lips against hers, and she smiled into their kiss and moved her hands up to twist softly into his hair, shifting closer until she was straddling his hips, where Austin was sitting on the ground still, leaning back against the couch.

They had made out several times before, but now it felt different, when Austin let his hands fall down from her face and stroked over her back until he could slip warm and gentle fingers under her shirt that had ridden up slightly when she had leaned forward to deepen their kiss.

[...]

A while later, they were snuggled together on the bed, silently and comfortably watching the fire burn in the fireplace, Austin's right hand stroking an unknown pattern over the exposed skin on Julie's waist where her shirt had raised up a little. Julie had placed her head on his chest and was listening to his steady heartbear, playing with the fingers of his left hand that he had placed on his hip.

And with the light of the fire throwing small shadows over their faces, Austin and Julie fell asleep in each others arms. Happy. 

\--

When he woke up on the next day, the sun had only started to rise over the top of the tree tops surrounding the cabin and some stray rays of sunshine flitted through the flimsy curtains and shone right upon the bare back of the beauty still fast asleep next to him. And as he looked upon her peaceful face, upon her chest rising slowly with each breath, he knew that there would never be a moment more perfect than this.

Slowly and carefully as not to wake her too early, he uncurled her arm from his waist and stepped out of the back, walking over to where Julie had thrown his pants the night before. He floorboard creaked under his feet for a second, but the brunet girl only scrunched up her nose for a second before falling back into her dreams.

Austin smiled and reached into the back pocket, curling his fingers around his target and taking it out without any hesitation left in his movements, and with a completely new air of confidence he walked back over to the bed, dropped down to his knees beside his sleeping girlfriend and reached up with his left hand to gently shake her awake.

Brown eyes opened and rosy lips smiled upon spotting his face and as her lips opened for a sweet good morning greeting, he cut her off as it tumbled from his tongue.  
"Will you marry me?", the words are out before he could really think about them, and just for a second while brown eyes stared at him, still caught in a dream, he regreted asking it in such a simple way, she would have deserved more romantic gestures than he could have offered her, but the regret and doubt fell away when Julie screamed and threw herself at him, having them both tumble to the ground.

\--

Her brown eyes were wide and she could feel the hesitation and anxiety crawl up her skin again as she peaked out behind Austin's shoulder, up at the blond young man who was standing before them in the entrance hall of Stuart House, but even then she couldn't hide the big grin on her lips, couldn't ignore the immense warmth filling her entire body, couldn't stop feeling the weight of the ring on her finger.

It had of course been their luck that the first person to cross their path back home would be Logan himself, dressed in a half buttoned shirt he had stepped out of the kitchen with an apple thrown up into the air by his right hand, and Austin's imminent reaction upon seeing his big brother had been to blurt out the truth.

"You...", Logan stuttered again, looking like he had run straight into a wall, "You asked her to marry you?", he repeated the question he had already asked twice, and Austin beamed even stronger.  
"And she said yes.", it bubbled from him, completely excited and oblivious to his brother's stunned shock, Julie fought against the urge to facepalm.

Green eyes turned to her when the lovesick grin on Austin's face only brightened even more, "You two disappear for two days and come back glowing like the freaking sun and engaged...", and then with a sudden ruck in his body, he seemed to change his track of thought, Logan looked away from Julie again and leaned down to hiss in his brother's face, "If she is pregnant, I will castrate you with my own hands.", he looked positively murderous in that moment and Julie decided to interfere before Austin's bubble of happiness made it even worse.

Pushing herself between both brothers, she blushed furiously but still kept on looking up into Logan's face, "I'm not pregnant. And I know we're young, but we love each other, Logan.", she argued in their favour and could exactly see the moment the dangerous king who was feared by so many caved in upon seeing the adoring look in her sepia eyes when she quickly glanced over at Austin.

Logan sighed and dragged a hand down his face, throwing the apple into her quickly flexing hands then, "Jesus Christ, you have my blessing, but don't scream this engagement into the world just now, we...", but he couldn't finish because someone else joined them in that moment.  
"Engaged?", all three of them jumped when Julian's voice suddenly echoed through the entrance hall and Julie couldn't even turn around to look for him when a body was almost flying down the stairs and then hands picked her up and twirled her around.

"Oh, you have to tell me everything.", Julian gushed and under a very weird look from his royal boyfriend, he grabbed her arm and pulled her with him. Julie happily skipped up the stairs alongside him, excitedly chatting with Julian, whose fingers checked over the ring on her hand, and Logan waited until they were out of earshort until he seized his brother up by his shirt and gently slammed him against the closest wall.

"A princess of New Orleans. A fucking princess of fucking New Orleans.", the unspoken message hung between them for a moment, you are getting engaged to their princess while Derek is trying to invade their ranks, but Austin was far too happy and giddy to see the pessimism at the moment.  
"I love her. I don't care what title she has, I love who she is.", green eyes bored themselves into his and Austin held his brother's scrutinizing look, and then Logan pulled back a little, he must have found whatever had been searching for.

"If you hurt her even once, I will rip you apart limb for limb. I won't even leave anything for her sister to damage. You better fucking know how precious and unique she is."  
"I know, Logan. I thought about this. I love her.", Austin's words had the expected effect on his older brother, because Logan visibly relaxed and stepped back again, giving Austin just enough time to straighten his shirt again before pulling his younger brother in for a hug.

"I know you do, Aus. That's why I know that you couldn't have found someone better. Be happy with her."

\--

Epilogue

"Woah!", Logan yelped and ducked away from the knife that had embedded itself in the tree trunk just five inches from where he had been medidating, and when he looked up from the dagger, he found devilish green eyes glaring down at him.

"They are sixteen, Logan!"

"I'm aware of that."

"She is my baby sister."

"He is my baby brother."

"They are not getting married for at least another two years."

"I completely agree."

The redheaded young woman breathed out loudly through her nose once and then walked over to flop down onto the log next to where Logan was still sitting cross legged on the forest floor.

"I fucking hate teenage hormones sometimes."

"Welcome back to Westerville, Sarah."


End file.
